Category Archives: Free Education

I have spent another week watching Ted speakers, artists and musicians and once again, here I have to present to you the best of the Ted Talks which I have found. Hope you enjoy.

5. Ahn Trio: A modern take on piano, violin, cello

The three Ahn sisters (cellist Maria, pianist Lucia, violinist Angella) breathe new life into the piano trio with their passionate musicmaking. At TEDWomen, they start with the bright and poppy “Skylife,” by David Balakrishnan, then play a gorgeous, slinky version of “Oblivion,” by Astor Piazzolla.

4. Jason Fried: Why work doesn’t happen at work

Jason Fried has a radical theory of working: that the office isn’t a good place to do it. At TEDxMidwest, he lays out the main problems (call them the M&Ms) and offers three suggestions to make work work.

3. Renny Gleeson on antisocial phone tricks

In this funny (and actually poignant) 3-minute talk, social strategist Renny Gleeson breaks down our always-on social world — where the experience we’re having right now is less interesting than what we’ll tweet about it later.

2. Jacqueline Novogratz: Inspiring a life of immersion

We each want to live a life of purpose, but where to start? In this luminous, wide-ranging talk, Jacqueline Novogratz introduces us to people she’s met in her work in “patient capital” — people who have immersed themselves in a cause, a community, a passion for justice. These human stories carry powerful moments of inspiration.

So here are a few of the best Ted Talks from recent memory. If you haven’t seen Ted Talks before, make sure you check out their site because it is the best site on the internet (if you disagree, show me one better). It is essentially videos of experts in their fields talking about what is important to them, be it culture, oceanography, education, music, arts, etc. So, here it is, my personal top five Ted Talks (which I have seen, and not yet covered):

5. Nigel Marsh: How to Make Work-Life Balance Work

Work-life balance, says Nigel Marsh, is too important to be left in the hands of your employer. At TEDxSydney, Marsh lays out an ideal day balanced between family time, personal time and productivity — and offers some stirring encouragement to make it happen.

4. Amber Case: We Are All Cyborgs Now

Technology is evolving us, says Amber Case, as we become a screen-staring, button-clicking new version of homo sapiens. We now rely on “external brains” (cell phones and computers) to communicate, remember, even live out secondary lives. But will these machines ultimately connect or conquer us? Case offers surprising insight into our cyborg selves.

3. Martin Jacques: Understanding the Rise of China

Speaking at a TED Salon in London, economist Martin Jacques asks: How do we in the West make sense of China and its phenomenal rise? The author of “When China Rules the World,” he examines why the West often puzzles over the growing power of the Chinese economy, and offers three building blocks for understanding what China is and will become.

2. Dan Barber: How I Fell in Love With a Fish

Chef Dan Barber squares off with a dilemma facing many chefs today: how to keep fish on the menu. With impeccable research and deadpan humor, he chronicles his pursuit of a sustainable fish he could love, and the foodie’s honeymoon he’s enjoyed since discovering an outrageously delicious fish raised using a revolutionary farming method in Spain.

1. Sylvia Earle’s TED Prize Wish to Protect Our Oceans

Legendary ocean researcher Sylvia Earle shares astonishing images of the ocean — and shocking stats about its rapid decline — as she makes her TED Prize wish: that we will join her in protecting the vital blue heart of the planet.

For those of you who frequent this site, you may have noticed something about me. I love to learn. I love to learn because it expands my knowledge of this crazy world we live in. I love to learn because now a days knowledge is literally power, and because knowledge is now available free to the every man, which means we the people, with only a little effort, can be truly powerful.

Here is an ironic fact, I have learned more on the internet than I ever learned in college. And the what I find on the net is not increasing in price by 25% a year.

In the ’60’s people opened their minds with LSD, today people prefer that their minds remain closed while they watch television. Be strange, be weird, turn off that damned TV now and then and learn something.

Here’s a good way to start. Free Yale Courses. You don’t have to pay a penny, and you too can receive one of the greatest educations that this planet has to offer. You wont get that expensive slip of paper, but that’s all bureaucracy anyway, it’s the learnin’ that’s important.

My advice, take is slow and take one class at a time, one or two lectures a week. No need to rush, but as long as you are even passively participating, you are progressing, and life is all about progression.

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Last week I highlighted a few musicians from Ted, my favorite web site on all of the internet, if you haven’t yet checked it out, be sure to. Just watching one video from Ted a day will make you more educated, informed, cultured, and perhaps interesting in casual conversation.

Over the past week, I went back through some of my favorite ted talks by writers or about writing, and I have found the three best ones out there, one which was posted just this week. These videos can be a bit long, so I’ll put them in order of length so that you can judge your time wisely.

This first video is of poet Suheir Hammad. To describe the power of this video, allow me to share this brief anecdote. While watching Ted Talks, I’m often doing other things at the same time, such as cleaning or doing the dishes, menial tasks so I can stay focused on the speaker but be productive at the same time. While listening to Suheir Hammad, I literally stopped in my tracks because it took my breath away. It was the feeling that you get when someone describes something perfectly that you’ve been feeling but were unable to articulate. This video is special, heart breaking, and hopeful, all at once. Don’t miss it.

This video is of the writer Elizabeth Gilbert, whom I have never read but I probably should. She discusses the phenomenal success she achieved early in her career, and the stress involved in living up to that success. She also discusses the idea of a genius in the ancient sense, which is facinating.

And last we have J.K Rowling talking about failure. Ironic, I know, she having written the world wide movement that is Harry Potter. For those of you who love her, this video will inspire you, she feels very down to earth and she goes into her past, back before she had more money than the Queen of England. For those of you who don’t like her writing, I still suggest you listen. She only discusses Harry Potter minimally, and her life before he success is fascinating.

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Let me preface this post by saying, if you have never been to Ted.com, what the hell are you doing here? Go, now! Ted is my favorite website on all of the internet, my home page when I open my browser, and there’s good reason for it. Ted is nothing but videos of brilliant, passionate people talking about the things they love, be it science, education, research, music or literature. If you’re up for it, here is a goal for you for the next week (I’m going to do it too): start your days off by watching just one video from Ted. That’s it. You will get smarter, you’ll become more cultured, more educated, and more entertained.

So, here in this post, I’ve decided to gather videos of many of my favorite ted musicians, and in future posts, I will gather a few of my favorite artists and writers, so be sure to check back for that. Hope you enjoy yourself.

Music:

First we have Jake Shimabukuro who tries to convince us that “what the world needs now is ukulele” by playing Bohemian Rhapsody.

Next we have one of my favorite live musicians, Andrew Bird. I mention live, because he uses a loop machine, which is fascinating to watch when used well by a talented musician, which he is, and he does. Here we have three live songs and stories around them. And believe me when I say, watching him run around stage picking up different instruments and whistling is supremely entertaining.

Now we are sliding closer to story telling as we have Robert Gupta, professional violinist and eloquent speaker. He speaks of music as medicine, which it most certainly is. He speaks of music as the catalyst which restores sanity, particularly the paranoid schizophrenic “charming, rugged, homeless” Nathanial Anthony Airs.

Now, there are many more musicians on Ted.com, most of them excellent. If you find one you particularly like, be sure to share the link in the comments section below. And, discussion on music ensue in 3,2,1….

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Away and Away

S.C. Barrus

I am S.C. Barrus, an up and coming writer, and the Managing Editor of the website AllTreatment.com.

Be sure to check the events page where you will not only find future S.C. Barrus readings, but also video of past events. Here you will also find video of the musicians who I personally invited to preform at my readings.

Contact: codybarrus [at] gmail [dot] com

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